The league can't find a buyer for a pretty good Phoenix playoff team - where are they gonna find not one, but TWO more suckers... er I mean owners... that want to join this club?

So now they'd need to find 3 new owners to join this group whose main source of income is currently locked out. Man, it doesn't get any better than this!

Who to say they won't just contract the Coyotes, divide the players between the 29 teams during the morning, sign the CBA at noon and sell and announce expansion teams to Quebec city (Now) and Seattle and Markham (2015) before primetime news. In the ruffle of news peoples will forget that the Coyotes saga ended in disaster.

YES gives qc an expansion because it's a canadian team they loved hockey so they'll be happy...

Of course Seattle would get the best, a fully formed competitive team

Qc lost a good team, they deserve a good team back. I know an expansion is better than nothing and I would be happy for them but I'm a bit sick of seeing canadian markets being treated as second class markets just because they love the game.

I think Seattle would be a nice hockey market but Qc will be ready before them. At the moment if a curent team needs to move it's going to Quebec. I'm pretty sure PKP would pay more for a team in a proven hockey market than Seattle.

Guess it depends on the opinion of the league itself on where they view the list of markets to relocate to. Seattle and Quebec top 2 of that list and opinion will vary on who is #1 and who's #2.

Quebec city will always be there for the league based on that they are building the arena regardless if they get a team or not.

On the other hand Seattle doesn't have a viable temp facility and some questions if there is an owner that wants to play in the Key while the new arena is being built.

Who to say they won't just contract the Coyotes, divide the players between the 29 teams during the morning, sign the CBA at noon and sell and announce expansion teams to Quebec city (Now) and Seattle and Markham (2015) before primetime news. In the ruffle of news peoples will forget that the Coyotes saga ended in disaster.

I disagree. Other people claim NBC would hate for Canadian teams to be added, however when NBC only shows the same teams I previously mentioned it seems they don't care about the other United States based teams. So why don't they prove it by showing different teams not the same ones.

I will repeat, blame Nielsen Media Research. Their numbers, unscientific as they are, are why NBC shows who they show. It's not a matter of caring, its a matter of gross totals that can be taken to clients to sell TV spots.

If Nielsen says 600 people watch hockey in, say, St Louis (Nielsen occasionally says goofy things like this...really unrepresentative, unscientific sample size they extrapolate from...sometimes as little as 600 households for an area of 5 million), NBC can't get toothpaste companies or whatever, to buy commercials. So you just get Pittsburgh, Boston, Detroit, Philly, Washington, the Rangers and occasionally Buffalo. Those are the cities that do good Nielsens.

Wouldn't moving a US team to another US city thats a better market like seattle would be better for ratings regardless of which teams NBC/NBCSN shows?

Seattle expands the league into other tv markets than just Seattle. Alaska Oregon Idaho and western part of Montana. Get a regional sports network in the Northwest going and you could get more people watching NBC and NBC Sports Network for hockey.

I will repeat, blame Nielsen Media Research. Their numbers, unscientific as they are, are why NBC shows who they show. It's not a matter of caring, its a matter of gross totals that can be taken to clients to sell TV spots.

If Nielsen says 600 people watch hockey in, say, St Louis (Nielsen occasionally says goofy things like this...really unrepresentative, unscientific sample size they extrapolate from...sometimes as little as 600 households for an area of 5 million), NBC can't get toothpaste companies or whatever, to buy commercials. So you just get Pittsburgh, Boston, Detroit, Philly, Washington, the Rangers and occasionally Buffalo. Those are the cities that do good Nielsens.

In the end the NHL can decide if they want to add more teams in Canada and NBC doesn't run the league, so who cares what they think. So if more Canadian teams more revenue and etc then it will be done and it's already proven that the 7 Canadian teams make a lot of the revenue.

With the exception of their Playoff series vs the Rangers in 2007 did NBC ever show any other Atlanta Thrasher games? I don't think they ever did and I doubt the NHL cared what they thought when they got moved to Winnipeg.

In the end the NHL can decide if they want to add more teams in Canada and NBC doesn't run the league, so who cares what they think.

With the exception of their Playoff series vs the Rangers in 2007 did NBC ever show any other Atlanta Thrasher games? I don't think they ever did and I doubt the NHL cared what they thought when they got moved to Winnipeg.

NHL will care when the NBC contract is up for renegotiation and the league would be better position for more money with Seattle having a team.

NHL will care when the NBC contract is up for renegotiation and the league would be better position for more money with Seattle having a team.

As someone mentioned the NBC contract is locked in and it's for what 10 years? Anyway the point is there is nothing they can do about it and I will say again if the NHL thought having more teams in Canada is best for them then they will do that, without wanting the opinion of NBC.

Why would a league crying out in financial pain want to spread the misery? The poor abused owners cannot make a go of it in many cities as it is. Vegas, Kansas City and Portland go begging for hockey while the dead franchises are artificially animated by the sick minds in the head office.

Leagues with roaring business models are able to expand. Does the NHL really think absense makes the heart grow fonder and fans will rush to embrace a league that uses them for leverage?

As someone mentioned the NBC contract is locked in and it's for what 10 years? Anyway the point is there is nothing they can do about it and I will say again if the NHL thought having more teams in Canada is best for them then they will do that, without wanting the opinion of NBC.

Isn't it the leagues best interest to expand its foot print (i don't mean necessary via expansion) and grow the sport.

Isn't it the leagues best interest to expand its foot print (i don't mean necessary via expansion) and grow the sport.

The NHL has tried that with their exapnsion in the United States with those non traditional markets. If some markets are failing and they could do a lot better in Canada then it's best the NHL move them to a Canadian city and at least they would be more sucessfull and make the NHL a lot more revenue.

While I have The Hockey News Mobile App I will believe it when they actually come out with a story about this. Not from someone who posts on Twitter unless they were Darren Dreger, Bob McKenzie or Pierre LeBrun who I trust a lot more. Plus nothing was mentioned on TSN and Rogers Sportsnet, so how come they aren't breaking this story?

You seriously trust Dreger as a reliable source?
In the months leading up to the anouncement of the Jets return to the NHL Dredger was the most outspoken media in terms of negativity for the NHL to come back to Winnipeg. He was adimit in that the Jets would never return...to the point of being a ******.
Ask anyone who followed the Return of The Jets and they will back this up...

The NHL has tried that with their exapnsion in the United States with those non traditional markets. If some markets are failing and they could do a lot better in Canada then it's best the NHL move them to a Canadian city and at least they would be more sucessfull and make the NHL a lot more revenue.

Seattle is a better market than those cities they recently expanded to. If it wasn't for lack of a proper arena Seattle would been expanded to during the league's last expansion. If NHL moves US teams to Canada then what for Seattle? Who is the next ready market besides Seattle that has potential groups that wants a team there.

Wouldn't moving a US team to another US city thats a better market like seattle would be better for ratings regardless of which teams NBC/NBCSN shows?

Seattle expands the league into other tv markets than just Seattle. Alaska Oregon Idaho and western part of Montana. Get a regional sports network in the Northwest going and you could get more people watching NBC and NBC Sports Network for hockey.

Although Seattle has the Seahawks, Mariners, University of Washington, and Washington State. Not to mention a possible NBA team. How many markets in the US is the NHL #1 if there are other sports there?